1855.] Notes on Eastern Thibet. 221 



and all the cases sent up by the Police for trial before the Shapees 

 are forwarded through this officer. All appointments to the offices 

 above noted, require the confirmation of the emperor. 



1. Tinkpun — Superintendent of Police and Jails. 



2. Slierpanhpa — Assessors to the Superintendent and to act as 

 checks on his proceedings. 



3. JBoopun — Military officers subordinate to the Da-puns but 

 also employed in Civil affairs when required. 



4. Jongpuns — Collectors of Revenue and Magistrates in the 

 interior. They hold office generally for three years only. They are 

 all laymen, one of these officers who is employed in the district of 

 Gar known to us as Gartope, is named the Garpun. He has charge 

 of the salt and gold-diggings in that direction both of which are 

 valuable. In the Kampa country to the East of Lassa, these officers 

 are styled Markam teje. 



5. Giapuns — Subordinate Military officers, Non-commissioned. 



6. Dingpiins — Ditto, ditto. 



7. Choopun — Ditto ditto. Privates are called Ma Mi, which means 

 " fighting men." 



The patronage of these 7 classes of officers nominally lies with 

 the Gealchup Noume-hen, but the Chinese Ampas have a veto if 

 they desire to exercise it, and the working of the system is to pro- 

 cure the approval of these high officers to the appointments before 

 they are made. 



One of the Ampas annually visits the Nepal and Ladakh frontiers.* 

 The Noume-hen and the four Shapees have the entire control of the 

 land assessment, commerce, customs and other sources of revenue, 

 and, I believe, that no account of the revenues, or the disbursements 

 of Thibet are required by the Emperor. The Chinese Troops and 



* In 1846, Keshen was the only Ampa or representative of the Emperor in 

 Thibet but he was one of the eight Tongtongs of the Empire and specially deputed 

 to arrange Thibet affairs at that time and the usual system of two Ampas was then 

 suspended. The following anecdote of Keshen is very characteristic of the self- 

 deceiving system of the Emperor's Government. When Keshen was ordered to be 

 executed for having sold the interests of his country to the English during the 

 War, his life was spared at the entreaty of " Sac Lama" the friend of the Emperor 

 "Taokwong" and sentence of banishment in chains was substituted. Subsequently 



